Volkswagen faces more bad news from emissions scandal

Wolfsburg: Volkswagen`s second-largest shareholder expects more "unpleasant news" to emerge from an emissions-test rigging scandal after the carmaker in September admitted to manipulating pollution tests in the United States.

"We will this year probably every now and then be confronted with unpleasant news related to dieselgate," Stephan Weil, prime minister of Lower Saxony, on Tuesday told a gathering of workers at Volkswagen`s (VW) main factory in Wolfsburg.

Europe`s largest automaker should be able to cope with the fallout of its manipulation but the damage will not be small, said Weil.

"The damage will, on balance, not be minor, as much as that can already be said today but Volkswagen luckily has a strong economic substance," Weil told the gathering, attended by thousands of workers.

Lower Saxony, which holds 20 percent of VW`s common shares, has "no reason" to alter its commitment to the carmaker, Weil said.